Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Cyro Baptista arrived in the U.S. in 1980 with a scholarship to the Woodstock-based Creative Music Studio. During the '70- and '80's, the Woodstock-based Creative Music Studio was considered the premier study center for contemporary creative music and is credited as the birthplace of world jazz. After his time at CMS, Cyro moved to New York City where he started his career on the streets of lower Manhattan. He has since emerged as one of the premier percussionists in the country.

Coinciding with the rise in the public's interest of world music, Cyro has recorded and toured with some of music's most popular names. His mastery of Brazilian percussion and his numerous homemade instruments, have catapulted him into world renown. In short, if you’ve listened to the radio in the past 30 years, chances are you have heard Cyro’s caxixi, pandeiro or one of his (now famous) homemade instruments.